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Tax · Germany

Mahnung des Finanzamts — unpaid tax, automatic surcharges, one week to pay

This is a demand from the Finanzamt listing unpaid tax plus Säumniszuschläge. The surcharges are not a penalty someone chose — they arise automatically by law once the due date passes.

How serious: needs actionAlso called: Säumniszuschlag notice, Mahnung über rückständige Steuerbeträge, Kontoauszug/Rückstandsaufstellung des Finanzamts

The letter lists tax that is still unpaid, plus Säumniszuschläge — late-payment surcharges. It usually gives one final, short payment window before enforcement.

The surcharges are not a discretionary penalty. They arise automatically by law once the due date passes — 'entstehen kraft Gesetzes', as the Bavarian tax authority puts it — at 1% per started month of the outstanding tax, rounded down to the nearest €50 (AO §240).

This letter matters because of what stands behind it: after the Mahnung, the Finanzamt's own Vollstreckungsstelle can enforce — no court is involved.

Who sends it

Your local Finanzamt — specifically its Erhebungs- or Vollstreckungsstelle, the collection unit.

Finanzamt letterhead, words like 'Mahnung' and 'Rückstand', a table with 'Steuer', 'Säumniszuschlag' and 'fällig seit', a total 'zu zahlender Betrag', and a payment date about one week ahead. It often warns of 'Vollstreckung' as the next step.

The deadline

The Mahnung's payment period is as a rule one week (AO §259: 'mit einer Zahlungsfrist von einer Woche gemahnt').

The Mahnung's payment period is as a rule one week — AO §259 speaks of dunning 'mit einer Zahlungsfrist von einer Woche'. It runs from the date of the Mahnung, or the payment date printed on it.

If you do nothing

Säumniszuschläge keep growing at 1% of the rounded-down arrears per started month (AO §240). After the Mahnung, the Vollstreckungsstelle may enforce without any court: as a rule arrears are first dunned or enforcement is announced, and then measures follow — attachment of wages and bank accounts, movable property and real estate.

Compute your date

The rule above is what the law sets. Put in the dates on your own letter and it becomes a date.

How it escalates

  1. 01The surcharges accumulate monthly (AO §240).
  2. 02A Vollstreckungsankündigung follows, or the Vollstreckungsstelle acts directly (AO §259).
  3. 03Your bank account or wages can be attached by the authority's own Pfändungsverfügung — no court involved (AO §309).
  4. 04Movable property can be seized and enforcement against real estate pursued.

Your options, procedurally

  • The listed total can be paid by the stated date.
  • Stundung — deferral or installments — can be applied for at the Finanzamt's Stundungs- und Erlass-Stelle; it is possible for some taxes if the claim is not endangered, and the authority advises making contact before the due date.
  • In hardship cases, the same office can be asked about Erlass (waiver).

How to respond

Response types

  • Confirm paymentZahlungsnachweis / Mitteilung über bereits erfolgte Zahlung
  • File the objectionAntrag auf Erteilung eines Abrechnungsbescheids (und Einspruch gegen den Abrechnungsbescheid) · § 218 Abs. 2 AO (Abrechnungsbescheid); §§ 347, 355, 357 AO (Einspruch dagegen)
  • Ask for instalmentsAntrag auf Stundung / Ratenzahlung · § 222 AOForm: No nationwide form number; each Landesfinanzverwaltung publishes its own Stundungsantrag
  • Ask for clarificationAntrag auf Erlass der Säumniszuschläge (Billigkeitserlass) · § 227 AO

Where and how

  • Brief / Postweg
  • Einschreiben (Übergabe-Einschreiben / Einschreiben mit Rückschein)
  • Telefax
  • Mein ELSTER — Formular "Einspruch"
  • beA / beBPo (besonderes elektronisches Anwaltspostfach / Behördenpostfach)
  • Einfache E-Mail
  • De-Mail
  • Erklärung zur Niederschrift bei der Behörde
  • Telefon

What makes it count

A response is in time only when it has actually REACHED the authority (Eingang/Zugang) before the deadline expires — the date of posting or the postmark is irrelevant — except that a filing lodged with the wrong tax office still preserves the deadline under §357(2) AO, and a missed deadline can be cured by Wiedereinsetzung in den vorigen Stand under §110 AO where the person was prevented without fault (apply within one month of the obstacle falling away and perform the missed act at the same time; one-year absolute cut-off).

Common questions

How is the surcharge calculated?

1% per started month of the outstanding tax, rounded down to the nearest €50 (AO §240).

Why was a surcharge added without any decision or warning?

Säumniszuschläge arise automatically by law once the due date passes — 'entstehen kraft Gesetzes' (AO §240). In hardship cases, the Finanzamt's Stundungs- und Erlass-Stelle can be asked about Erlass (waiver).

How fast can enforcement follow?

The payment period on the Mahnung is as a rule one week (AO §259). After that, the Vollstreckungsstelle may enforce without any court — including attachment of wages and bank accounts.

Sources

Facts verified against the sources below on 28 August 2026.